Clear the Path, Don't Push Harder

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My Weekly Reality Check

This newsletter almost didn't happen. I sat at my laptop, cursor blinking, telling myself I needed the "perfect" topic. So I dove into research mode, scanning old notes, rereading book highlights, weighing different approaches.

An hour in, I had zero words written.

The irony hit me: I was stuck not because I lacked ideas, but because I demanded perfection from the first sentence. My obstacle wasn't external, it was the standard I'd created.

The solution was embarrassingly simple: choose any worthwhile idea and begin. Once I abandoned the quest for perfection, I realized the topic was right in front of me.

The productivity trap is seductive: when progress stalls, we add more. More systems, more effort, more complexity. But what if the real solution is subtraction?

Greg McKeown's Essentialism offers a counterintuitive approach. Instead of asking "What should I do?" the Essentialist asks: "What's blocking me—and how do I eliminate it?"

The Essentialist's Three-Step Method

Step 1: Lock in Your Target

Vague intentions create endless obstacles. When your destination is fuzzy, every path seems equally valid, and equally overwhelming.

McKeown's solution: define success with surgical precision. Instead of "finish the presentation," try "send a 20-slide deck to Sarah by Wednesday noon." Instead of "improve fitness," commit to "complete three 30-minute walks this week."

Precision eliminates the mental energy wasted on constant decision-making.

Step 2: Find Your Constraint

Eli Goldratt's The Theory of Constraints teaches us that every system has one bottleneck determining overall speed. Your productivity works the same way.

The key questions:

• Which single obstacle, if removed, would accelerate everything else?

• What "helpful" habits are actually creating drag: perfectionism, over-planning, endless research?

Most people try to optimize everything. Essentialists focus on the one thing that matters most.

Step 3: Eliminate, Don't Accommodate

Once you've identified the constraint, resist the urge to work around it. Remove it entirely.

If perfectionism is your bottleneck, adopt "good enough" as your new standard. If approval delays are killing momentum, ask stakeholders: "What would need to change for you to decide by Friday?" If information overload paralyzes you, set a research timer and stick to it.

The goal isn't to push harder against resistance. It's to make resistance irrelevant.

Your Next Move

Before tackling your next important task, take two minutes to identify:

1. Your precise target: What specific outcome defines success?

2. Your primary constraint: What single obstacle creates the most friction?

3. Your elimination strategy: How will you remove (not work around) that obstacle?

Progress accelerates when you stop fighting the current and start redirecting the river.

Question for reflection: Where in your work are you adding complexity when you should be removing barriers?

Ready to eliminate digital distractions that slow you down?

Download my Digital Detox Checklist for a proven system to reclaim your focus and clear mental clutter.

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